A few of the Republicans hoping to replace Elissa Slotkin in Congress were quick to condemn her announcement yesterday that she’s going to vote to impeach President Donald Trump on both articles of impeachment.
Paul Junge attended Slotkin’s event with voters yesterday at Oakland University in Oakland County, dressed in a suit jacket with a “Paul Junge for Congress” leaflet sticking out of his breast pocket. He’s a former Lansing-area T.V. anchor and former immigration official in the Trump administration.
He’s running to replace Slotkin as representative of Michigan’s eighth U.S. House seat, which includes all of Ingham and Livingston counties, and a northern portion of Oakland County.
“(Slotkin) is focusing on an effort to impeach and remove a President instead of focusing on the issues that are important to voters,” he said.
In an op-ed in the Detroit Free Press Monday, Slotkin announced she’ll vote yes on Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress, the two articles of impeachment against President Trump.
When Slotkin took the stage in front of voters Monday, she first talked about work she’s doing on a bill in Congress to reduce prescription drug costs, research the USMCA trade deal to replace NAFTA, and authorizing a defense budget that will phase out the Pentagon’s use of firefighting foam containing PFAS by 2024.
In her editorial, Slotkin said President Trump “illegally solicited the help of foreigners to influence the American political process,” and did so for his own personal political benefit. She also said Trump broke with a century of tradition by ordering his administration to defy congressional subpoenas.
“I made this decision out of principle, and out of a duty to protect the Constitution,” Slotkin said at the event at Oakland University. “I feel that in my bones, and I will stick to that regardless of what it does to me politically, because this is bigger than politics.
Junge doesn’t buy it.
“I think basically you do not have a case that comes anywhere close to the constitutional requirement to impeach and remove President,” Junge said.
Slotkin and Democrats in favor of impeachment say Trump’s request to the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe Biden’s family was an inappropriate request that invited a foreign power to become involved in the American political process.
Junge said that’s “simply wrong.”
He’s one of four Republicans running for Slotkin’s eighth district seat.
Nikki Snyder is a member of the Michigan Board of Education, nurse and lactation consultant running as a Republican in the eighth district. Snyder wasn’t available for an interview, but she said in a statement:
“As predicted, Elissa Slotkin will be voting in favor of impeachment. This is not surprising to me as much as it is disappointing. Slotkin lied to the great people of the eighth district when she claimed to be a moderate."
Other Republicans running for the eighth district are Mike Detmer, who didn’t return a request for comment, and Kristina Lyke, who couldn’t be reached for comment Monday.
Republican State representative Mike Maddock also attended Slotkin's event. Maddock’s 44th state House district slightly overlaps with Slotkin’s Congressional district – they both represent Springfield Township in Oakland County in their respective houses of government.
“It’s a fluke that (Slotkin) got elected to this Congressional district,” Maddock said. “I think this is going to be a one-way ticket for voters to vote her out.”
“I think this whole impeachment process is a shim-sham sham is what it is. The American people know it. It’s actually helping President Trump at this point,” he said.
Want to support reporting like this? Consider making a gift to Michigan Radio today.
